Geek Hero Nate Silver
Geek hero Nate Silver is Out’s Person of the Year. The Daily Intelligencer seems to think Silver used the opportunity to trash talk his detractors.
The holiday season is making Mark Zuckerberg feel very charitable. He just gave his largest gift to date—$500 million in Facebook stock to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a non-profit working to improved access to healthcare and education.
And while we are on the subject of year-end honors, Tavi Gevinson, at 16, is the youngest of Forbes “30 Under 30 in Media.” And in keeping with the teenage trend, Maude Apatow, the 15-year-old daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, is on the “30 Under 30 in Hollywood” list.
According to an annual cost of living survey, Tel Aviv is getting more affordable. However, it is still the most expensive city in the Middle East.
In fashion news, Zac Posen is replacing Michael Kors as a judge on “Project Runway.” Also, here’s a video of Israel’s Fashion Week in case you didn’t make it to Tel Aviv last month.
Soulful teenage chanteuse Carly Rose Sonenclar will sing a duet with country crooner LeAnn Rimes during “The X Factor” finals on Wednesday. Are we the only ones nervous about this combo?
Drew Barrymore is on the cover of the January issue of Allure and tells readers about her personalized “Drew Barrymore Kopelman” stationery and wearing a lot of Chanel these days (her husband Will Kopelman’s father Arie Kopelman used to be chairman of the company).
You know that new @SeinfeldToday Twitter thing we told you about? Well, thanks to NYT Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren’s husband Gary Rudoren, we now have @SeinfeldIsrael. “What if Jerry, George, Elaine & Kramer lived in the Holy Land of Israel? Jew-larity ensues!”
Olympic swimmer Anthony Ervin shows off his tattoos underwater on the cover of the January issue of Swimming World magazine.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s freshman directing effort, “Don Jon’s Addiction,” will premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In case you felt you were really missing out by not seeing the video of the brawl between Chris Brown and Drake and their entourages in a New York club last summer, here it is.
For the adventurous moviegoer, here’s the trailer for James Franco’s sex art film titled “Leather Bar.” It has something to do with recreating lost S&M footage from a 1980’s gay thriller.
Adam Pally joked on Conan O’Brien’s show that he looked like “a Jewish Chris Farley in front of FAO Schwarz” in the ill-fitting beefeater outfit he unfortunately chose to wear for his appearance.
Celebrity sighting for today: Sarah Jessica Parker walking her kids to school (again); Liev Schreiber walking with his family (again); Daniel Radcliffe channeling Allen Ginsburg in the upcoming “Kill Your Darlings”; Evan Rachel Wood sporting a new hairdo, fluffy bathrobe and Uggs on the set of her new movie; Paul Rudd dashing in to a taping of Late Night with David Letterman; Sarah Michelle Gellar taking her daughter to ballet class; and Rachel Zoe’s husband Rodger Berman wearing guyliner, which we are more used to seeing on Johnny Depp and Adam Lambert.
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